Despair art online
by Vixen7117
Summary: When Hajime and 9,999 other players are trapped in the virtual world of aincrad he feels his fate is sealed, but if he has the ultimate gamer on his side he might survive.
1. Chapter 1

(Inspired by a post by  hikkotaku )

"Link start" Hajime said. The game booted up and he was whisked away to the virtual world of aincrad. After a few minutes of awing over the ultra real graphics and beautiful scenery, Hajime started to explore his surroundings. Slowly he adjusted to the games realistic sense system. Then he checked his menu. He scrolled past the instructions and tips until he noticed something strange. The place where the log out screen was supposed to be wasn't there. Just as he realized it he was teleported to the central square along with everyone else in the game.

In the square people were starting to panic. Suddenly the sky was lit up by monotone pixels as a pink liquid descended and formed into a cloaked figure. "Hello and welcome to aincrad" the cloak figure announced" now if you've noticed your logout option has been uninstalled. That is because you are all trapped in aincrad". The crowd screamed in horror. "Relax when the first person reaches the 100th floor you will be free" the cloaked figure said" however if you die in the game your vr headset will administer a shock to your brain that will kill you". At that moment everyone was truly terrified Hajime included. "Oh and one last thing" the cloaked figure said "I've arranged a new feature". Suddenly everyone was transformed to look just like they were in real life. "Have fun upupupu" the figure said before disappearing.

An hour after the announcement and Hajime was still broken. He was about to loose all hope when he heard a familiar voice. "Hajime is that you?" She asked. Hajime looked up to see a girl with cat ears and a tail. "Chiaki?" Hajime stuttered. "Yep" Chiaki smiled her tail swaying side to side. "What's with the tail" Hajime laughed a bit. "Oh it's just an item I got" Chiaki said "with it my speed increases and I can see in the dark". "Of course you'd wear it for the stats" Hajime said. "Hey since we need to get to the 100th floor will you wanna form a guild" Chiaki asked. "Are you sure?" Hajime asked. "Yeah it'll be fun" Chiaki smiled while her ears perked up. "Okay but what should we name our guild" Hajime asked. "Gala omega" Chiaki announced with pride making Hajime crack a smile.

After a trip to the market for some items, Chiaki and Hajime went to the fields for practice. In the fields, Chiaki showed Hajime how to use a crossbow and othe mechanics. "You're really good at this" Hajime complemented. "Well I did get to beta test so I know the mechanics more than most" Chiaki said. "Of course you would" Hajime said as he tried to aim his crossbow. "Oh if you kill that boar it might drop some meat" Chiaki pointed out. "What does it heal you?" Hajime asked. "Actually if you cook it it's really yummy" Chiaki said. "Okay than let's get some meat" Hajime said before shooting an arrow at the boar.

After training the two went back to the village. Since neither of them had a stove they had to pay a fellow player to cook the meat. Once the meat was ready they prepared a spot under a tree to eat. While Chiaki slowly gobbled hers down Hajime wasn't to sure how to eat his. "Just eat it like you would anything else" Chiaki advised. So Hajime took one big bite and surprisingly enjoyed it. As the two ate their food chiakis cat ears perked up and honed in on a conversation. "What is it Chiaki?" Hajime asked. "Someone defeated the floor boss" Chiaki said. "Should we advance to the second floor then?" Hajime asked. "Maybe we should level up some more" Chiaki said. "Okay you're the expert" Hajime said.

Soon the sun began to set. Chiaki let out a yawn signaling for some well deserved rest. "If we go to an inn we can sleep" Chiaki advised. Before Hajime could say anything Chiaki fell asleep. Hajime tried to wake her up but to no avail. After one final failed attempt Hajime had no choice but to carry her to the inn. By the time he reached it, the inn only had one room left. Fortunately it was a two bedroom. Once Hajime reached the room he carefully laid Chiaki in her own bed and pulled the sheets over her. A little while after he fell asleep in his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Chiaki woke up to the smell of pancakes. She looked over to see a plate of fresh pancakes on the table. Than Hajime walked in with two bottles of orange juice. "Did you make these yourself?" Chiaki asked. "Yep, but I couldn't find any syrup" Hajime said. "I was wondering if we should try completing some quest to earn some money" Chiaki said as she slowly nibbled at the pancakes. "Sure" Hajime agreed "what quest should we complete first". "The golden egg quest should suffice I think" Chiaki suggested. "Than let's get ready" Hajime said.

In the dungeon, Chiaki swiftly defeated the enemies while Hajime was having some trouble. Just as Hajime was about to defeat a small rat monster he tripped over the quest item. The little rat scratched Hajime before he managed to defeat it. "Yay you found it" Chiaki cheered as her tail curled upward.

Back at the village, Chiaki and Hajime traded in the item for their reward. Chiaki received a pink cloak while Hajime received a nice green scarf. "What do you think?" Chiaki asked as she spun around her cloak. "It looks good on you" Hajime said making Chiaki blush and her tail twist. "Your scarf looks so nice" Chiaki complemented making Hajime blush.

For a week Hajime and Chiaki continued going on quest and working up a lot of money. Finally they were able to buy a small two bedroom apartment on the 18th floor. "What do you think?" Chiaki asked. "It's purrfect" Hajime joked. "Say could you make your special fish sandwiches tonight please?" Chiaki asked. "Fine" Hajime said. While Hajime wasn't to good at fighting he was slowly becoming an excellent cook. "Okay dinners ready" Hajime announced.

After dinner Chiaki went to sleep. Hajime took this opportunity to go to the market and buy a gift for Chiaki. As he walked through the market he heard some people gossiping. "Did you hear about that skilled player with the wild cat item" someone said. "Yah I hear she's super powerful" someone else said "I wonder if she's on the front lines". "I don't think so but they might recruit her" the other person said. Hajime brushed off the conversation and proceeded to buy the item he was looking for.

When Hajime got home he checked up on Chiaki. Sure enough she was still asleep. As he watched her sleep he noticed her level was the same as his. Was she purposely staying close to his level. Normally Chiaki was an expert gamer but then why was she not past his level. The thought troubled him for a bit until he decided not to think about it and get some sleep.

The next morning Hajime cooked up some pancakes while Chiaki sorted her items. "Where should we go today?" Chiaki asked. "I guess we could do some training" Hajime said. Suddenly there was a ring sound as a screen appeared before Chiaki. "What's that?" Hajime asked trying to peak at it from the corner of his eye. Chiaki skimmed the letter before deleting it. "It's nothing" Chiaki said.

That day the two explored a new dungeon on the 19th floor. It was a standard crystal dungeon with pretty easy enemies. Hajime did his best to slay as many enemies as he could for Chiaki. Just as he was about to beat all of the enemies one slipped away so Hajime pursued it. He followed it to a big empty room. Suddenly the room lit up as a giant boss monster appeared. The beast roared and caught Hajime off guard causing him to fall. Slowly he feared his demise as the beast raised its claws. Then in a blink of an eye Chiaki was there. Chiaki took the blow for Hajime before attacking the monster with her dual blades. As Chiaki battled the beast, Hajime stayed on the sidelines completely useless. Finally Chiaki finished off the beast. The beast exploded to shimmering pixels that descended like snow. Hajime watched spellbound before realizing chiakis hp was in the yellow. "Chiaki are you okay?" Hajime asked as he rushed over to Chiaki. "I'm fine" chiaki reassured despite her body proving otherwise.

Back at the apartment, Chiaki quickly fell asleep after her exhausting fight. As she slept, Hajime waited in the living room. "This is all my fault" Hajime whispered to himself as he wrote a letter. Once the letter was finished, Hajime attached his gift for Chiaki to it. After he sent it to Chiaki he pulled up his friend list.

Do you wish to unfriend Chiaki?

Chiaki woke up very late that morning. "Hajime?" Chiaki asked but no one answered. Slowly Chiaki stepped out of her bed when she noticed she had a new message. Chiaki opened the message and started to read.

Dear Chiaki

I'm sorry but I'm not strong enough to be fighting alongside you right now. Because of this I've decided to go and train alone. Don't worry I'll come back when I'm strong enough. Please don't worry about me and take care of yourself until I return.

sincerely Hajime

After she read the letter Chiaki opened the gift attached to it. Inside was a pink angelic ribbon. Chiaki slowly tied the ribbon around her neck before checked her friend list. Sure enough he unfriended her so she couldn't track him down. "Hajime where did you go?" Chiaki asked sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

Three days passed as hajime trained on his own. One day he grinned for two hours before stopping for a lunch break. During lunch he checked his stats to see he had increased by two levels. "Hey asshole" a voice asked. Hajime looked up from his screen to see a girl with blonde hair. "Can I help you?" Hajime asked confused. "Are you chiakis partner" the girl asked her green eyes staring intently at him. "Not anymore" Hajime said a little sad. "What did she dump you?" The girl asked. "No I'm just training on my own so I can become strong enough for her" Hajime explained. "Glad to know I'm not the only one feeling inferior" the girl laughed "by the way my names natsumi". "Hajime" Hajime said. "Hey since we're both training why not train together" natsumi said. "Are you sure?" Hajime asked. "What do you think I'm too weak" natsumi said. "No no" Hajime tried to reassure "it's just I don't think I'm that reliable". "Relax Weaklings need each other to survive" natsumi reassured "now get your ass In gear so we can get stronger". After a little hesitance, Hajime decided to team up with natsumi. Surprisingly, the two worked very well together.

Once the sun started to set the two decided to call it for the day. "Ya know you're getting pretty strong" natsumi complemented"maybe there's hope for us weaklings after all". "Thanks" Hajime said "your strong too". "Nah I'm so weak compared to my brother" natsumi said. "Really how strong is he" Hajime asked. "Well he runs the strongest mafia in the game" natsumi bragged. "That's pretty strong" Hajime said. "I don't know I've heard rumors that your partner once killed a whole hoard of monsters on the 21st floor all by herself" natsumi said. "She probably did" Hajime said. "Well I gotta go or my brother might send his secret weapon" natsumi said "see ya". With that natsumi left.

Back at village on the 10th floor Hajime decided to get some dinner. "How was the training today?" Sonia asked in her usual maid outfit. "Oh it was pretty good" Hajime said "I actually made a friend sort of". "Splendid maybe you can bring them around here" Sonia said. "What's new with you" Hajime asked. "Gundam is training a new beast again" Sonia said "but besides that nothing new". "Is that all" Hajime asked. "Yes but I heard they reached the 27th floor" Sonia said. "Hey Sonia your needed at table 5" Teruteru said. "Looks like I gotta go" Sonia said "see ya". "See ya" Hajime waved goodbye.

Over the next few days Hajime continued training with natsumi. "Hey does your brother know your out here" Hajime asked while the two took a break. "Nah I'm kind of training in secret" natsumi said "how about you". "Well it's been a week since I started training on my own" Hajime said "but when I get strong enough I can fight alongside her again". "Geez your a hopeless romantic" natsumi joked making Hajime a bit embarrassed. "Well it's just she's my best friend so I want to support her" Hajime said. "Cut the crap and admit you like her more than just a friend" natsumi said. "Fine I do sort of like her in that way" Hajime said. "I knew it you really are a hopeless romantic" natsumi laughed. "Do you really have to make fun of it" Hajime asked. "I'll stop but in return you have to make lunch for tomorrows training got it" natsumi said. Hajime agreed before the two continued training.

After training, natsumi and Hajime walked to the teleporter like they always did. "Hey Hajime do you know how to make fried dough cookies" natsumi asked. "Well I'm pretty good at cooking but I don't know what ingredients would be required" Hajime said. "Damn" natsumi said "well thanks anyway". "Well I could ask around" Hajime offered. "Fine but I'm holding you to it" natsumi said "see ya tomorrow". Hajime waved goodbye before natsumi teleported away.

Slowly Hajime walked back to the inn he was staying at. Along the way he heard some people chatting. "Did you hear 5 people died today" one said. "Anybody important?" The other asked. "I don't think so" they replied.

Back at the inn Hajime laid in his bed and looked up at the ceiling. Slowly memories of time spent with Chiaki floated in his mind. Hajime pondered if he would ever be strong enough to be her partner again. Finally he shook away his thoughts before falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since Hajime disbanded the guild, Chiaki had to adapt. She spent the following days training all by herself. In about three days Chiaki had leveled up 10 times. Sure enough she became infamous for her skills. Everyday the front liners asked her to join them and everyday she declined. Even though she wanted to free everyone from the game she refused to be the front liners puppet. So to make up for it Chiaki would unlock the floors on her own.

That day Chiaki scouted the newest floor for where the boss was. Along the way though she saw a bunch of monsters about to kill someone. Without a second of hesitation, Chiaki launched an attack on the monsters. As she battled the monsters the person laid stunned by the battle before him. Five minutes passed before Chiaki killed every single monster. She took some time to breathe before approaching the person she saved. "Are you okay?" Chiaki asked. "You shouldn't worry about trash like me" the boy said "are you okay?". "I'm fine" Chiaki replied "what's your name?". "Nagito" the boy answered "are you perhaps the legendary Chiaki everyone's talking about". "Yep" Chiaki said. "In that case" nagito said as he stood up "could I join your party". There it was. The question everybody asked her, but this time it felt different. It sounded more earnest and sincere than all those other times. "Why do you want to join my party?" Chiaki asked. "I want to help you get to the 100th floor" nagito said "it's okay if you don't want to be associated with trash like me". "No it's not that" Chiaki said . Chiaki thought it over a bit before answering. "You can join my party" Chiaki said. "How wonderfully beautiful" nagito said "I promise to do whatever I can to help".

After Chiaki befriended nagito the he invited Chiaki to dinner on the 24th floor. There they talked strategy. "So what class are you" Chiaki asked. "I'm a healer" nagito said. "So I'm very good at support roles". "Do you have any experience with fighting?" Chiaki asked. "Not really but I am good at inflicting status ailments" nagito said. "Okay then if you can give status ailments to the monsters and keep my hp in the green while I defeat it" Chiaki said "that should be the most efficient strategy". "That's amazing" nagito said "you really are the ultimate gamer everyone says you are". "What would you like" the waitress asked. "I'll take the caviar with salmon" nagito said. "Just the fetachini Alfredo for me" Chiaki said. "Okay coming up" the waitress said before leaving. "That was an expensive dish are you sure you'll have enough money after this" Chiaki asked. "Oh don't worry I'm actually pretty rich" nagito said "all because I won the lottery". "You must be pretty lucky" Chiaki said. "I guess I am" nagito laughed.

After dinner the two parted ways, Chiaki returned to her apartment. Ever since Hajime left the place felt so empty. Slowly Chiaki prepared for bed by switching into her pajamas. However she kept the angelic bow around her neck. Once she was ready she slipped into her soft pink bed. As she eased into sleep she wondered how Hajime was doing and a part of her hoped he'd come back soon. Finally she drew one last breath before falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Hajime met up with natsumi at there usual spot. "So did you bring lunch" natsumi asked. "I brought it" Hajime reassured "but it's a surprise". "Fine but it better be amazing" natsumi said.

Once again the two trained in the same place they always trained. Finally lunch was upon them. "Thank you for the food" they both said before chowing down. "This is so delicious" natsumi said "are you sure you didn't get someone else to make it". "No I swear I made it myself" Hajime reassured. "How did you get so good?" Natsumi asked. "I just cook a lot in my spare time" Hajime said. "You'd make such a good house husband" natsumi joked "imagine Chiaki comes back with a rare ingredient and you cook it into the best dinner ever". "Why do you have to tease me" Hajime asked. "Just keeping moral up" natsumi said with a grin.

After some more training, the two walked to the entrance. They were almost out when natsumi suddenly stopped. "What's the matter natsumi" Hajime asked. "Stay calm but I think we walked into an ambush" natsumi said. Right after she said that several cloaked figures surrounded them. Then a one of the cloaked figures stepped forward. "Hand over the girl" they said. "What do you want with me" natsumi yelled. "If our Intel is right your brother runs the kuzarieo clan" the figure said. "Ya so what?" Natsumi asked. "A clan like that is very wealthy" the figure said "now imagine what it's leader would give for the safety of his sibling". "Tsk" natsumi growled. "Sorry but neither of us are going anywhere" Hajime said lifting up his sword. "Fine will do this the hard way" the figure said before him and all the other cloaked figures raised their weapons. The figures were about to charge forward but were stopped when someone leaped in front of natsumi. She was a woman with silver hair and red eyes. "Come any closer and I'll be forced to kill all of you" the woman warned. This didn't stop the attackers so the woman did as she said and attacked. As she fought the silver haired woman moved with such grace as if she was a master swordsman. In minutes she killed all who opposed her except for one that she had spared. "Tell your boss to leave natsumi alone or else fuyuhiko will order an all out war on you" she said with her blade to the survivors throat "got it?". The survivor nodded before scrambling away in fear. "Natsumi are you okay?" The woman asked after tucking her sword away. "Ya I'm fine" natsumi said "are you gonna tell big bro about this?". "Sorry but you know he worries about you" the woman said "worst case scenario is you won't be able to train on your own". "Fine" natsumi said "see ya Hajime". "Wait can I still train with natsumi" Hajime asked. "I'll ask the young master" the woman said "but don't get your hopes up". "Well if this is the last time we train I want you to take this" natsumi said as she pulled up her screen "I made it myself but I think you'll have more use of it". Hajime looked at his screen to see he received a shield by the name of "the guardian". "Use it to protect the people you love" natsumi said "got it bastard?". "Yeah" Hajime nodded. "Well see you around" natsumi waved before leaving with the silver haired woman. "See you around" Hajime said.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few days Chiaki and nagito trained together till they were practically in sync. While Chiaki attacked, nagito inflected status ailments and kept both of their hp in check. Overall it was an effective strategy that brought them much success, however they still weren't ready to face a boss yet.

One morning they enjoyed breakfast at a cafe on the 31rst floor. "Say Chiaki can I ask you something?" Nagito asked. "What is it?" Chiaki asked. "I was wondering if we should recruit more members so we can take down a boss" nagito said "what do you think?". "Sure, but how would we recruit new members" Chiaki asked. "I thought about that and I have an idea" nagito said "we can put an add in the paper". "I guess that would work" Chiaki said. "Wonderful" nagito smiled "just imagine all those talented players being guided by your hope filled light". Chiaki tilted her head in confusion. "Oh sorry if I spoke out of line" nagito apologized. "It's fine" Chiaki reassured "so what should we write?". "I think I have a good idea" nagito said.

The day after the ad was sent out, Chiaki received multiple applications from various players. She had so many that she had to call upon nagito to help sort them out. "There's so many how are we going to sort through them all" Chiaki asked. "Maybe we can recruit all of them" nagito suggested. "You mean like a guild?" Chiaki asked. "Exactly" nagito said "the biggest and strongest guild in all of aincrad". "Okay I guess" Chiaki agreed "I'll let them know and then we can meet up somewhere"

A few hours later at a large tree on the 22nd floor everyone who applied for chiakis team met up. "Um thank you for applying" Chiaki spoke up immediately silencing the crowd "I'm very honored to meet and work along side you". As she spoke, Chiaki looked over the crowd that was now her guild. "I promise as long as I lead this guild we will survive" Chiaki announced much to the crowds pleasure. After Chiaki spoke nagito started a standing ovation. "Here's to our wonderful leader" nagito declared "long may she reign".

After a long day of arrangements and greeting her new comrades, Chiaki was very tired. Once she got home she face planted into her bed. In bed, she immediately fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

It was just an ordinary day for Hajime as he enjoyed breakfast at his favorite cafe on the 10th floor until she appeared. "Um Hajime may I ask for your help?" Sonia asked. "What is it?" Hajime asked. "Could you help me retrieve an item" Sonia asked. "I guess what item is it?" Hajime asked. " here let's talk in private" Sonia suggested. p Back at Sonias apartment Hajime and Sonia were able to chat over some tea. "So what's this item and why do you need me to help you get it" Hajime asked. "Well basically the item revives pets and because of that its sought after by many" Sonia explained "I may not look it but I'm pretty strong I'd just feel safer if I had someone I trust come along". "Okay but can't you ask gundam to help" Hajime asked. "That's the thing I need the pet revive for gundam" Sonia explained " ever since his dragon died he's been so depressed that he locked himself in his room". "Oh well I guess I can help" Hajime said "where's the item anyway?". "The 47th floor" Sonia answered. "In that case I might need to call in a favor" Hajime said. p At the 47th floor entrance Sonia and Hajime waited until the teleporter illuminated. "Hey bastard" natsumi greeted. "Hi natsumi" Hajime greeted before realizing their was a familiar face behind natsumi. "Oh sorry about my intimidating nanny" natsumi joked "but it was the only way my big bro would let me come". "I assure you no harm will come to any of you as long as I'm here" the silver haired woman said. "Geez peko your even more cliche than Hajime" natsumi joked. "Since when was I cliche" Hajime complained. "Tell me if you've heard this one before" natsumi asked "A boy trying to prove his worth to a girl". "Let's just get this item already" Hajime said trying to ignore natsumis comment. p After an hour of dungeon crawling the team finally reached the end of the dungeon where the item was. "Okay now that we have the item we can all go home" Sonia said. "Thanks for the help today" Hajime thanked. "Anything for a friend" natsumi said. "Natsumi if you're done we should get going" peko said. "Fine" natsumi groaned "see ya later hajime". "Well I should get going too then" Hajime said. "Wait why don't you help me deliver this to gundam" Sonia said. "Okay i guess since I'm not doing anything I can tag along" Hajime said. "Excellent let's go" Sonia said.

"here we are" Sonia announced once they arrived at the an inn on the 13th floor. "What's that sound it's like a dying cat" Hajime asked. "Oh that's gundam he's been very emotional" Sonia said "but I'm sure this will cheer him up". Sonia then knocked on the door. "Gundam" Sonia called "I got you something to cheer you up". Suddenly the crying stopped before the door opened a bit. "Can I come in?" Sonia asked to which the door opened up more. Hajime didn't really know what to expect but he did not expect what came next. "Can I see bellfire" Sonia asked. "Yes my precious bellfire" Gundam sniffed as he took out a feather from his jacket. Then Sonia applied the pet revive item much to gundams surprise. Suddenly the feather glowed before turning back into a small purple dragon. "Bellfire you've come back from the river Styx" Gundam cried before hugging his beloved dragon. The dragon reciprocated his feelings by licking his face. "Thankyou my dark lady" Gundam said as he cradled the dragon in his arms "tell me what do you require in return for resurrecting my dragon". "Your happiness is payment enough" Sonia smiled" but you should really thank Hajime because he helped me get the item". "Good sir thank you for assisting my lady" Gundam said as he bowed his head. "It really wasn't that hard" Hajime said bluntly. "Still I owe you so I shall reward you with one of my fine beast" Gundam said as he pulled out his screen. Then Hajime received a gift. "A rabbit?" Hajime asked. "Fool this is no mere rabbit" Gundam said "this rabbit has guided me on many ventures through hell and back". "Plus she's super cute and will heal your hp" Sonia added. "Oh well thank you" Hajime said.

Once Hajime got back to his room he selected the rabbit and let it run around. It was pretty cute with its button eyes and pinkish white fur. When Hajime laid on his bed the rabbit jumped into the bed with him. The rabbit sniffed his face before curling up next to him and falling asleep. Soon after Hajime fell asleep too as he stroked the rabbits fur. "Night Usami" Hajime yawned.


	8. (Important) Authors Note

Hello Dear Readers

As you may have noticed its been a while since I updated this story. Unfortunately I've decided to abandon this story. It was rude of me to keep you waiting. If perhaps any of you still want the story to continue I might try to update, but I'm not as dedicated to this project compared to my other stories. Sorry if I can't continue and Thankyou for reading.

sincerely: Vixen


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